5 Big Games Launching This Week: ‘Wolfenstein’ and More

Last week’s releases were mostly small or niche titles, but this week we’ll get a few meaty games that will keep us coming back for hours on end. In fact, one of them packs over 100 hours of content into a tiny cartridge.

Whether you’re into open-world action games, shooters, Japanese RPGs, Marvel superheroes, or even puzzle horror games, you’ll find something to play this week. Read on to find out what games are launching across all systems the week of May 3, 2015.

Source: Warner Bros.

1. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Game of the Year Edition

Comes out May 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC

When you picture a game set in the land of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you’d be forgiven for expecting to play as Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, or any other famous character from the books. Surprisingly — and even refreshingly — that’s not the set-up of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. In this game, you explore the fantastical landscape of orcs and elves from the perspective of Talion, a Ranger of Gondor, who also happens to be a resurrected dead man.

The combat is fast and balletic as you burst into orc camps and take out their leaders, scattering the ugly henchmen to the wind. This edition comes with all of the downloadable content that was released for the game in the eight months since its original release. Here’s everything included:

Story Packs: The Lord of The Hunt and The Bright Lord

Skins: The Dark Ranger, Captain of the Watch, Lord of the Hunt, The Bright Lord, Power of Shadow, and Lithariel Skins

Missions: Guardians of the Flaming Eye, The Berserks, and The Skull Crushers Warband Missions

Challenge Modes: Test of Power, Test of Speed, Test of Wisdom, Endless Challenge, Test of the Wild, Test of the Ring, Test of Defiance Challenge Modes

Additional Features: Photo Mode

Source: Bethesda

2. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

Comes out May 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC

Last year’s Wolfenstein: The New Order was a surprisingly great shooter. Rather than mimicking games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, it took many ideas from the original Wolfenstein series and updated them for a modern audience. The result was a game that felt distinct from its contemporaries, but confident in its execution.

The Old Blood is a stand-alone prequel to The New Order. It takes place in an alternate version of 1946 during which the Nazis are on the verge of winning World War II, thanks to some sci-fi military technology they’ve managed to assemble. Your job is to infiltrate their bases to find the coordinates to their top-secret compound. Are you a bad enough dude to win World War II for the Allies?

Source: Atlus

3. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker

Comes out May 5 for Nintendo 3DS

The original Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 launched on Nintendo DS in 2012. This 3-D update brings that whole game to the 3DS and doubles the amount of content while it’s at it. The basic idea of the game is that you explore dungeons, fight demons, capture them, fuse them together to create new demons, and use those to fight against other demons. It’s kind of like Pokémon meets Diablo.

If you’ve never played a Shin Megami Tensei game before, don’t worry. This is a stand-alone game that has been carefully calibrated to welcome newcomers to the fold. But it’s long. If you want to do everything in this game, plan to pour upwards of 100 hours into it. Casual players need not apply.

Source: White Paper Games

4. Ether One

Comes out May 5 for PS4

Did someone call for a spooky puzzle adventure game? Because that’s exactly what Ether One is. It’s a first-person game in which you explore the mind of a dementia patient, trying to free blocked memories and cure the disease. But when you mess with delicate things, the whole house of cards can come tumbling down in a moment.

The puzzles are optional in this game, so you can play it just for the story if you’d like. It only lasts three or four hours, but it’s a well-told, if depressing, tale of pain and healing. Ether One is free for PlayStation Plus subscribers throughout May.

Source: Disney

5. Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes 2.0 Edition

Comes out May 9 for PS Vita

This game came out last year for most other systems, but it’s now making its way to the PS Vita. Skylanders may have started the trend of having players buy toys to access characters in a video game, but Disney has hopped on the bandwagon in a big way. Disney Infinity games are kind of like a variety show in that they feature a number of modes that let you do things like build levels, battle through dungeons, and plant towers to defend yourself from swarms of oncoming enemies.

This edition of the game is draped in Marvel lore, so the toys and in-game characters are superheroes like Captain America and Spider-Man. While the previous game was directed toward younger audiences, this one is aiming to rope in movie and comic book fans of all ages. But before you rush to the store, know that the toys don’t come cheap. The starter kit retails for $75, and then you’ll probably want to buy more toys once you start playing.